Living the Program

 Co-Dependence Anonymous has been a miraculous program for me. I joined CoDA in 2019 when I had 8 years previous Twelve Step experience in another Fellowship. I have and continue to work my steps in my other Fellowship; however, no step work has been as thorough and healing for me as the step work in Co-Dependents Anonymous.

At five years of sobriety I found myself in a situation where I was conned and it affected me physically, spiritually and emotionally. My ego, pride and self-esteem were crushed, and I was ashamed to tell anybody that I was suffering and damn near suicidal.

In 2019 I heard a 10-minute Co-Dependence Anonymous share that blew my mind. At that moment, I realized there was something missing from my recovery and that I needed to go deeper to heal my deep-rooted trauma. That 10-minute speaker became my CoDA sponsor, and I began to work the Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous daily. The Steps changed my entire life. I found where I have been codependent in all the five patterns of codependency. I learned how my childhood, learned dysfunction, and my own created dysfunction had caused me pain, misery and kept me a victim of myself and codependency.

Today I have the opportunity in my personal and professional life to help others. I am grateful. My higher power has not only allowed me to heal, but to witness others healing, too. I am forever grateful to Co-Dependents Anonymous and the healing I get to experience one day at a time for the rest of my life.

Tonya B. 6/6/2023

Everybody in CoDA has a story to tell. Sharing yours may help thousands of codependents still suffering. We are always accepting submissions. Please contribute your experience, strength and hope by emailing your story to wr@coda.org.